1. Field of the Invention
This invention refers to multipart combs made of plastics material with normal height cell walls, with a centre wall and with removable cell walls for breeding more efficient and more resistant bees.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Combs made of plastics material are known but there are moulded in one piece. They have very limited stability and cannot be produced economically.
Furthermore, combs are known, which are produced by injection moulding from plastic material. If produced with normal height of the cell walls (approx. 12,5 mm) production of the combs is very complicated. Accordingly combs have been produced by injection moulding with considerably reduced height of the cell walls (approx. 1/3 of normal height) according to German Pat. No. 21 18 676. Production of this type of combs is complicated, too, and it is necessary to make the cell walls with a diameter increasing from the bottom of the cell outwardly.
Apart from producing such combs there exists the problem of the Varroa mites which have disastrous effects. Nowadays, these mites are controlled by chemical means, against which the mites become resistant and which poison the honey and the brood. Those bees, which are attacked by the Varroa mites within the cells are weakened and susceptible to other bee diseases.
In the long term combating the Varroa mites effectively will be possible only if the resistivity of the growing bees is improved. Optimal nutrition of the maggots and young bees with feeding juice within the cells is guaranteed, if sufficient feeding juice is available at all times. The feeding juice is far more durable within combs made of plastics material than within wax combs.
Furthermore, it is known to combine centre wall combs with cell walls on one side to full plastics combs and to provide them with openings, which can be closed by plugs. The inner side of the plug forms the deepened bottom of the cell, which accommodates the bees' eggs and the maggots grown therefrom as well as the feeding juice. The plugs together with the maggots and the feeding juice is taken from the workers' cells and is transferred to corresponding openings of equal size in the bottoms of the queens' cells. This method is time-consuming because each plug has to be transferred individually.